August 29, 2008 3:54 pm

Truck driving is one of Washington’s most dangerous professions, accounting for 10 percent of the state’s work related fatalities and $265 million in injury claims each year, according to a new state labor report.

“Given the importance of trucking to our economy, everyone in the industry needs to be working to prevent workplace injuries,” said Barbara Silverstein, the research director for the Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention, in a L&I news release.

The report also found that:

There were 63 fatalities in the state trucking industry between 1998 and 2005.

One in 13 Washington truck drivers is seriously injured on the job each year.

There were more than 21,000 claims for lost work time and about 38,000 medical-only claims between 1997 and 2005.

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